For well over a decade, the Assassin's Creed franchise has allowed gamers to take trips back in time, combining action and cinematic history into 11 incredible games. Through those games, along with a slew of mini-games and iterations in other forms of media, Assassin's Creed has beautifully showcased the development of modern gaming.
Assassin's Creed in itself is a work of art. Through phenomenal character design, breathtaking landscape artistry, powerfully real narratives, and revolutionary game trailers, they feel like much more than just games. The franchise, like many others, is also responsible for inspiring millions of fan creations. So, to pay homage to one of the world's most beloved gaming franchises of all time, let's look at 10 pieces of Assassin's Creed fan art we know you'll love.
10 Altair
We might as well start by paying our respects to the game that started it all. That's at least what artist Kerembeyit was thinking when they created this masterful Altair art. In a single piece that shows us the franchise's flagship character overlooking a crowded city street, Kerembeyit was able to capture the entire essence of Assassin's Creed.
A large part of what the franchise's game is about is heroism taking place in the shadows. The heroes of these games anonymously watch from above, and that's exactly what was delivered here. There are few works of art similar to this one, that so accurately and beautifully captures the spirit of an entire franchise like the artist so effortlessly accomplishes here.
9 Black Flag
Throughout all 11 main series games, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag was arguably most responsible for showcasing the massive range of scenery players could explore simply through the introduction of sailing. It was also a game-changing moment in the franchise as it brought to life an entirely new type of story, using a ruthless pirate as its main subject.
If there was ever a piece of fan art to accompany the game that truly captures the ruthless soul of Edward Kenway, it's this one from Haryarti. Looking over burning ships on a chaotic sea, all that still stands is the pirate himself. The smoothness and almost animated nature of the artist's style blend beautifully with the mayhem and destruction that helped define the game.
8 Revelations
There's no character more iconic in the Assassin's Creed lineage than Ezio Auditore da Firenze. He filled us with three games worth of memories, and did so in a fairly badass fashion. So, it only feels right that plenty of artists out there paid tribute to Ezio with their own interpretations of the character's adventures.
This one from Ninja-8004 puts such a creative and fun twist on Assassin's Creed: Revelations by giving it a bit of anime flavor. Using the game's dynamic between Ezio and Altair as the inspiration for this piece, they so effortlessly bring the characters into a new style that you wouldn't really imagine could work so well, but does.
7 Master Assassins Unite
Despite being one of the arguably more forgettable games in the franchise, Assassin's Creed: Unity created so much artistic potential with its incredible use of costumes and aesthetically impeccable depiction of Paris during the French Revolution.
With just a few colors and energetic design, Design-By-Humans gives an otherwise simplistic concept so much life. It's not overly flashy but certainly gets the job done and then some. It also makes Arno Dorian, a fairly lackluster assassin in the history of the franchise, feel more memorable than he actually was.
6 Westminster River
In what later became official art associated art for the game, this unbelievable piece from Darek Zabrocki so perfectly showcases how beautiful Assassin's Creed: Syndicate really was. Despite being set in industrial London, the game had so much beauty layered throughout it. In this masterpiece, the artist is able to produce such a rough and unrefined image of Jacob Frye overlooking the Westminster River, while still showing the depth of scenery that the game's setting had to offer.
Overall, it's no wonder the game's creative directors wanted this piece associated with their game, as it so elegantly captures the grit of both the Frye twins and industrial London.
5 Connor
Considering how much of a fan-favorite Assassin's Creed III was along with its protagonist Connor Kenway, it's not surprising that there's thousands of fan art paying tribute to the snow-covered beauty of the game. Here we have an elegantly simple piece from Ubisoft artist Pierre Bertin, who manages to capture everything we loved about Assassin's Creed III in one image.
Connor, perched in a tree looking down on a group of red coats with his arrow drawn, tells the story of the action throughout the game. Simply by portraying Connor up in a tree, Bertin already manages to capture such a definable element of the game. Even though Bertin works for the company that creates Assassin's Creed and this could technically be considered concept art, it's still art made for the fans, and that's enough to earn a spot on this list.
4 A Draft
Artist Liu Yan, or Sunsetagain on Deviantart, might consider this piece a draft, but it is still magnificent in its own right. Throughout all the pieces of Assassin's Creed fan art, there are few that bring together every assassin we've ever met. Although there are certainly some conflicting artistic styles going on here, it's still incredible that a piece with every single assassin even exists.
Alongside characters like Desmond Miles, Altair, Ezio Auditore, the Frye Twins, and the Kenways, Sunsetagain even manages to include assassins from the minigames like Assassin's Creed III: Liberation and Assassin's Creed Chronicles. The only assassins that seem to be missing are the siblings from Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, but we'll make up for their absence shortly.
3 Leap Of Faith
If you ask just about anyone what the most definable feature of the Assassin's Creed games is, most will probably say the leap of faith. Jumping into a hay bale or a body of water feels just as synonymous with Assassin's Creed as running across the rooftops of Renaissance Italy.
So, it only feels right that we include a piece of fan art that captures the iconic leap of faith, and there are few that do so as well as this piece from ChaoyuanXu. They've created dozens of Assassin's Creed art in this same crisp and detailed style. This one, in particular, is beautifully elegant and perfectly embodies just how graceful the leap of faith is. From the naturistic details below and the striking glow of the sun to the birds flying alongside an incredibly detailed assassin, this piece is practically flawless.
2 Water Life
It's hard to look at this masterpiece and not let your jaw drop to the floor. Assassin's Creed Origins had so much beauty spread across breathtaking Egyptian landscapes. Well, the brilliant mind of artist Sandara managed to capture some of that beauty in this single still work of art.
The longer you stare at this piece, the more incredible details you notice. Whether it be our hero, Bayek, sailing across alligator-infested waters or the treasures hidden beneath the sea, there's an incredible amount of detail to gaze at. You can even manage to locate Sanu flying across the skies alongside a flock of birds as they pass in front of the towering pyramid. There's so much depth in the piece that it's almost impossible to completely notice everything at first glance. It's easily one of the most astonishing masterpieces ever created to go alongside the game and even the franchise as a whole.
1 Kassandra & Alexios
Lastly comes an incredibly powerful, yet simplistic piece from artist Tohuwabohus. One of the most amazing aspects of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey is the choices every player can make to essentially design a game of their own. One of the first choices players make is to play with one of either Alexios or Kassandra.
The fact that either character essentially has the same story makes this piece that much more complex and brilliant. As Kassandra looks at her reflection in the blade of Leonidas, she only she's the eyes of her lost brother staring back at her. Such an oversimplified image bears so much complexity and emotion from the game's plot that all you can really do is stare in amazement.